The journey of Dean Kuchel and how he became location independant
The second episode of DND Goes Behind The Scenes is up! We interviewed a true globetrotter and digital nomad Dean to talk about the location’s independent lifestyle. Unlike many other nomads, Dean never planned to become a digital nomad. However, once he experienced the location independent lifestyle, there was no turning back. He convinced his boss to keep on working remotely and has been on the road since 2013. Dean is working remotely as a consultant for tech companies. His job is to help businesses with their customer success management and how to build relationships with clients. He shared his experiences on his website www.whereisdean.com and through his community Digital Nomads Israel. He traveled to over 90 countries and his goal is to travel to all the 196 countries in the world..
”Dont fake kindness but don’t be an asshole”
What person changes your life and led you to the location independent lifestyle?
His curiosity to travel the world and meet people from other countries was triggered by his mom who is a travel agent. The work and travel lifestyle though was something that just came on his path. While he was working in the USA and waiting for his visa, he started to work remote. Once he got the taste of it he didn’t want to come back to the office. And his is how his working remote lifestyle continues until today.
Dean spends the week in Bali and was mostly in digital nomad capital Canggu working from Dojo Coworking Space. First of all, it was a great week because he met a lot of new digital nomads. On top of that, he also hung out with people from his own community Digital Nomads Isreal. So it was a great mix of old friends and new friends. This is really one of the coolest things about the location independent lifestyle, there are so many people to meet!
What is challenging about living the location independent lifestyle?
‘‘My day to day job is not a challenge.” Dean is busy as a beaver. He is working on a lot of different things at once and meets a lot of people. However, his day job is not challenging. He shared four challenges:
Community – His community has 6000 members and his main challenge is to assist everyone. That takes a lot of time and energy while he is building his community and networking.
Family Another day-to-day challenge is being away from his family. Especially not seeing his nephews growing up is really hard.
Relationships – A common topic in the digital nomad community is the hurdles when talking about dating. We spoke about this with Digital Nomad Wade in the second episode of Digital Nomads Daily Goes Behind The Scenes. Dean is traveling a lot and moves fast so it’s challenging to find a partner.
Friendships – The location independent lifestyle allows you to meet a lot of people from all walks of life. It’s the ‘hi’s’ that make him excited about traveling so much. While the ‘goodbyes’ are is the hardest part. His only advice to himself and others is: ‘enjoy the moment, accept it and do quick goodbyes.’
What is your greatest failure in your location independent lifestyle so far?
The first thing Dean shares is that he doesn’t believe in something such as failure. Also, by just trying you are already succeeding he explains. A good lesson from the road is though to be nice and kind to all the people you meet. In his view, friends come and go, enemies accumulated over time. In other words, you might not be friends with everyone but you don’t want to have enemies either.
The second piece of advice from Dean is to say yes to everything and go explore. This mindset makes him happy and feel successful in his own way. Furthermore, he would prefer meeting people rather than staying at home by himself. Saying ”yes” is what brought me to a lot of experiences on this planet. Hence, nothing bad ever happened to me from saying yes. And nothing good happened to me from saying no, he adds.
What advice do you give yourself and others about how to live the digital nomad lifestyle?
As a professional globetrotter and digital nomad, Dean has 2 bits of advice for you in store:
Digital Nomad Tip #01 – Pack less
The concept is pretty simple – The less you own the more freedom you have. As a minimal and true digital nomad, Dean travels with a single carry-on and a backpack for his laptop only. This allows him to move around fast and easily and live the location independent lifestyle successfully.
Digital Nomad Tip # 02 – Say yes and go explore
The second piece of advice from Dean is to say yes to everything and go explore. This mindset makes him happy and feel successful in his own way. Furthermore, he would prefer meeting people rather than staying at home by himself. Saying ”yes” is what brought me to a lot of experiences on this planet. Hence, nothing bad ever happened to me from saying yes. And nothing good happened to me from saying no, he adds.
”Free is the idea to go wherever you want and whenever you want. Object and things just keep you on the ground.”
What book or podcast do you recommend?
Many who live the location independent lifestyle have read the 4-hour workweek by Tim Ferris. However, Dean recommends reading ”The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson” The reason why he recommends this book is because it’s a great concept for people to push their dreams and ideas. On top of that, this book is a good read for people who are living or aspiring to the location Independent lifestyle. One of his favorite podcasts to disconnect is 99percentinvisible. These are random stories from all around the world hosted by Roman Mars.
Key Take Aways For Nomads
✅ Be realistic about your expectations of this lifestyle
3 tips to master your productivity level as a digital nomad
Without a doubt, one of the main challenges as a digital nomad is to stay productive. The nomadic lifestyle comes with a lot of perks. Yet, being surrounded by palm trees and coconuts brings along lots of distractions too. In this article, we are sharing 3 tips on how to boost your productivity level as a digital nomad.
We had a conversation with James Bowen, a High-Performance trainer and Productivity Coach from Toronto, Canada. We talked about the struggles and what we can do in order to master productive days as a digital nomad. He has been traveling around the world as a digital nomad for almost two years but calls Bali for home now.
To watch the full talk go to our talk or read his three main tips below!
DIGITAL NOMAD TIP #01 – HAVE A DAILY GOAL OR DEADLINE YOU NEED TO HIT NO MATTER WHAT
As a digital nomad, it’s very easy to get lost throughout the day. However, setting a goal or specific deadline for each day will help to compartmentalize your time. It will add some structure and help you stay productive. So, what small changes can you do to ensure that you are reaching those goals?
You can start using a scheduler like Google Calendar. This will help you plan your day in detail and provide you the opportunity to schedule specific time blocks. It shows you where you are dedicating moments of the purpose of getting things done.
We asked in the DND Community what other platforms they use to manage their productivity. Other popular tools are Trello and Notion.
DIGITAL NOMAD TIP #02 – HAVE A MORNING ROUTINE TO BRING YOU IN THE RIGHT STATE OF MIND
A morning routine gives you the ability to manage your state of mind, your moods, and your energies. And this is why we share productivity digital nomad tips. Every place or city has countless factors that will challenge that. Especially in the Digital nomad capital Canggu there are endless distractions everywhere that try to get you off track and make you fall into temptation. Even though it may be fun, it also makes it harder to start your day off on the right foot the following day. That’s why following a specific morning routine is very helpful. According to James, your morning routine should always involve three things:
Learning 🧠
Exercise 💪🏼
Planning sessions to manage your day 👨🏽💻
DIGITAL NOMAD TIP #03 – RUTHLESSLY ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS FROM YOUR DAY
We live in an age where people scream for our attention. On our Facebook feed, the news, Instagram stories, people want to be heard. Especially when working in cafés or co-working spaces we get bombarded with distractions. Your phone pings or your friend drops by for a quick cup of coffee. It’s all fun, however, it makes dedicating your time and energy extremely hard. To boost your productivity level you, therefore, have to eliminate as many of those distractions as possible.
It is quite simple, the more things we engage ourselves in the less energy we will have towards what we need to do. So, for a start, you can close all tabs and social media apps. You want to make sure that no one can talk to you when you are supposed to be working. It may sound a bit tough, but James had a good point and quoted: “Addiction to distractions is the death of creative production”. As digital nomads we create and we build. So, if you are addicted to distractions you are not in a good state to be productive. It takes a lot of effort, but at the end of the day, it will be worth it.
Key Take Aways For Nomads
✅ Eliminate as many distractions as possible
✅ Set a goal for each day to compartmentalize your time
✅ Use a scheduler like Google Calendar to plan your day in detail
Watch the digital nomad interview with James
The nomadic lifestyle comes with a lot of perks. Yet, being surrounded by palm trees and coconuts brings along lots of distractions too. Watch the full talk to learn how you can boost your productivity level as a digital nomad.
A talk with Jordan Simons on how to sustain the digital nomad lifestyle
For some, the nomadic lifestyle is just like a short love affair. Magical, exciting and very intense. However, just as magical it appears just as difficult is it too sustain for a long period of time. So what can we do and what should we be aware of when we want to sustain a nomadic lifestyle and turn our love affair to a long term thing?
Meet Jord, backpacker turned successful digital nomad and content creator. He has been embracing the nomadic lifestyle for almost five years, earning a full-time income from YouTube AdSense and video/photo content. After exploring over 70 countries, he now spends most of his time in one of our favorite digital nomad locations, Bali.
The nomadic lifestyle comes without instructions. But as an established digital nomad who truly understands the struggles and challenges, he is the perfect candidate to ask for some tips and tricks.
5 tips on how to sustain your digital nomad lifestyle
DIGITAL NOMAD TIP #01 – FIND DIFFERENT REVENUE STREAMS
In order to stay in the game, you need a stable and full income to keep you rolling. When it comes to photo and video creation, it took Jord a few years to figure out how to make money around it. His first dollar as a digital nomad came from YouTube AdSense. However, if you want to earn a full-time income as a digital nomad you have to explore more ways to make money. Now, besides YouTube AdSense, one of his main revenues comes from Stock footage and licenses his photos.
Like many other digital nomads, Jord was trying to make ends meet month to month, mostly relying on YouTube for a long period of time. Yet, he emphasizes the importance of having a long term perspective when entering this career.
“To sustain the nomadic lifestyle you need to have a long term view in mind and always explore new opportunities and platforms when building your revenue stream,” he says.
This long term approach, doesn’t only apply to content creators but most digital nomads. You can also check out our digital nomad talk with Kait Rich, who combines online coaching programs with in person retreats to create a full income.
DIGITAL NOMAD TIP #02 – MAP OUT YOUR PERSONAL WORK/LIFE BALANCE
To map out your personal work/life balance will help put your body and mind at ease. For Jord, this meant to settle in Bali instead of travelling around and work on the go. He still goes on trips to create content, but comes “home” to do the editing etc. A choice which provides stability and the opportunity for a work/life balance that enables him to keep creating.
We would never underestimate the importance of hard work. Yet, we also believe that you should enjoy the places you go to. To be fair, what is the point in spending 100 hours a week in front of the laptop, if it keeps you from doing what you set out to do in the first place. Which in most cases, is to see and experience the world.
Therefore, you have to map out a personal system that works for you. Nowadays content creation and vlogging is a very popular digital nomad job. However, Jord has seen some of the biggest Youtubers get burned out due to pure exhaustion. Just focusing on work, will most likely prevent you from creating and suppress your motivation in the long run.
DIGITAL NOMAD TIP #03 – PAY ATTENTION TO THE LAST DETAIL
As said earlier, there is nothing wrong with being a hard worker. In fact, you should be. However, if you don’t pay attention to the last details it may not pay off as you want it to. According to Jord, content creation goes far beyond producing videos and editing. Many make the mistake of finishing one video after another just to move on to the next straight away. But in order to get the most out of your hard work, paying attention to the last detail is key. In regards to content creation, the last detail is putting some time in marketing your content. In the end, getting those last bits right can make all the difference!
DIGITAL NOMAD TIP #04 – NEVER SACRIFICE THE QUALITY OF YOUR WORK OVER QUANTITY
We don’t believe in failures. However, Jord has made some mistakes we all can learn from. One is to take on too many projects and sacrificing the quality of the outcome. “Consistency is key, but if your trying to divide your attention to too many projects, none of them will end up any good,” he says. As a digital nomad your time is very precious. Therefore, in the process of choosing which projects to take on, remember to stay true to yourself.
According to Jord, it’s better to dive into a fewer amount that really spark your interest rather than fumbling around with 10 different projects. You should prioritize projects that provide value both personally and professionally in the long run.
DIGITAL NOMAD TIP #05 – HAVE PATIENCE, SUCCESS DOESN’T COME OVERNIGHT
Turning into a successful long term digital nomad is a long and tough journey. The struggles are real no matter if you are a vlogger, coach, content creator or something completely different. Success mostly doesn’t come overnight and if it does, it might not last long. According to Jord, a lot of people become video and photo creators without having the actual understanding or backbone of monetization. Building an understanding takes time and effort, but hang in there. As long as you stay consistent with your work, see improvement over time, even just small ones, you are on the right track!
Key Take Aways For Nomads
✅ Have patience – success doesn’t come overnight
✅ Have a long-term perspective when entering the nomadic lifestyle
✅ Find a work/life balance that enables you to keep creating
✅ Build a stable income from multiple revenue streams
We interviewed Health and Fitness coach Michael Saukulak about the power of having a morning routine. He is the founder of Composure Fitness and we asked questions about his daily challenges when working online.
Michael has been a nomad for over 8 years. He was introduced to this lifestyle due to his position and location independent lifestyle when he was serving in the US military. His experience as an entrepreneur digital nomad is very different and comes with different challenges and he is facing new roadblocks. One of the things that keep him going is having a morning routine and especially as location independent creative entrepreneur. The morning routine has been massive a game changer for Michael and he shared his morning routine for you to try it out.
The morning routine of Michael Saukulak step-by-step
Step 1: It all starts the night before
Know what you need to do the next day and make sure you get atlas 8 hours of rest or sleep before. Put your phone further than an arms’ distance from your bed. In this way, when you have to turn off your alarm, you are out of bed anyway. This will definitely help you instead of having your phone next to your pillow.
Step 2: Drink water
When you sleep, especially when you are in an AC room, you will lose a lot of water. Tip: front-load your water. Refill your water bottle or cup before you head to bed so when you wake you can drink right away.
Step 3: Do a full body inventory
This is very similar to a mindfulness practice but you basically to be present in your body and see how you actually feel from head to toe.
Step 4: Wake up your body in 10 minutes
Getting a sweat going in the morning. Nothing crazy like a CrossFit workout but just a few sets of push-ups or ab/core work out would be enough. It’s just to wake up the body.
Step 5: Give your body a ‘shock’
Getting a sweat going in the morning. Nothing crazy like a CrossFit workout but just a few sets of push-ups or ab/core work out would be enough. It’s just to wake up the body.
How to keep up with your morning routine when you are a traveling nomad?
Even though Michael is more or less a professional when it comes to morning routines and discipline, one of his main challenges is consistency. He explains that this is really important and not just for digital nomads but for everyone. He adds to that morning routines is all about taking small steps rather than a big thing.
Many people portray these morning mindfulness practices as big things but by starting small and just doing it, it becomes pretty easy. Another common challenge is to actually get out of bed. There are many tricks to get yourself out of bed but it all comes down to having the intention of wanting to build a good morning routine and then just slowly implementing it to your daily life.
Key Take Aways For Nomads
✅ If it feels to overwhelming then start small
✅ Consistency is key when it comes to morning routines
✅ Plan your day ahead
Want to see the full digital nomad talks interview? Sit back, relax and watch it below
A conversation with Adeline about when it’s the right time to start your digital nomad journey
Meet location independent entrepreneur Adeline Er, from Sydney, Australia with Malaysian-Chinese roots. She has been running her digital marketing agency Your Digital Ninja since she quit her job in accounting. She is also running two websites, Not So Basic.Life and TravelGig where she is on a mission to inspire millennials to live life on their own terms.
Adeline started her digital nomad journey in January 2018 and has been working and traveling in Singapore, Shiang Hai, and Hong Kong. In 2018 she arrived in digital nomad hub Canggu, Bali. Her experience started in Ubud to first explore a spiritual journey. She noticed that the entrepreneurial scene is more active in Canggu decided to stay in Canggu instead.
Tips about from digital nomad Adeline
Digital Nomad Tip #01 – Guard your mindset
One of the first things Adeline mentioned in the conversation is to believe in yourself and whatever you want is within you. Mindset is really important, not just for digital nomads but for basically everyone. Many people are thinking about taking the leap and dreaming about traveling and working at the same time. Adeline’s advice is to ask yourself carefully if this lifestyle is really for you before taking action.
Digital Nomad Tip #02 – Dealing with guilt
One of the first things Adeline mentioned in the conversation is to believe in yourself and whatever you want is within you. Mindset is really important, not just for digital nomads but for basically everyone. Many people are thinking about taking the leap and dreaming about traveling and working at the same time. Adeline’s advice is to ask yourself carefully if this lifestyle is really for you before taking action.
“Don’t compare your day number one with someone’s day 562”
Digital Nomad Tip #03 – The comparison trap
There are a lot of ‘successful’ digital nomads, especially in nomad locations like Canggu, Bali. So of course, it’s tempting to look at other people’s success. The truth is that by looking at what other people do and how successful they are, it won’t help you to become successful. You might get inspired and there is nothing wrong with that, in fact, it’s amazing if you feel motivated and inspired by others. On the other hand, looking at others and comparing your day one with someone else’s day number 500 is a totally different thing. Keep in mind that everyone has their journey and all this success didn’t happen overnight.
The right time to take the leap for digital nomads
Taking the leap, runoff and just hop on a flight and start your journey sounds like a dream. It is a commonly asked question when the right time is to become a digital nomad. Adeline’s digital nomad advice is to first ask yourself if this lifestyle might be for you. Another tip from Adeline is to first start with traveling to a digital nomad location such as Bali and get a taste. Other nomad advice is to take care of your finances because you don’t want to run out of money and always think about your safety, especially for solo traveling women.
Key take aways for when you are a starting digital nomad
✅ Don’t feel guilty about living a different lifestyle and wanting other things in life than your family or friends desire
✅ NEVER compare yourself with nomads who have been on the road for a while.
✅ Have a plan to manage your finances
Watch the full interview with Adeline for more digital nomad tips
